Image Processing System and Method

1. An image processing system for comparing images, the system comprising: an object thinning module operable to thin objects in a first monochromic image and thin objects in a second monochromic image, so as to generate a skeleton image of the first monochromic image and a skeleton image of the second monochromic image; an object thickening module operable to thicken the objects in the first monochromic image and thicken the objects in the second monochromic image, so as to generate a bold image of the first monochromic image and a bold image of the second monochromic image; an image overlaying module operable to overlay the skeleton image of the first monochromic image with the bold image of the second monochromic image, and overlay the skeleton image of the second monochromic image with the bold image of the first monochromic image, so as to respectively generate an overlaid image; an image output module operable to output the overlaid images on a display screen; and a processor that executes the object thinning module, the object thickening module, the image overlaying module, and the image output module.

2. The system as described in claim 1 , further comprising an image conversion module operable to convert color images to the first and the second monochromic images.

3. The system as described in claim 1 , wherein the object thinning module thins the objects in the first and the second monochromic images by: reading pixel values of all points in each row of the first monochromic image, searching the pixel values of the objects of the first monochromic image in each row to locate a plurality of groups that include consecutive pixel values of the objects of the first monochromic image, and updating the pixel values in each group by maintaining a central pixel value and changing the other pixel values; and reading pixel values of all points in each row of the second monochromic image, searching the pixel values of the objects of the second monochromic image in each row to locate a plurality of groups that include consecutive pixel values of the objects of the second monochromic image, and updating the pixel values in each group by maintaining a central pixel value and changing the other pixel values.

4. The system as described in claim 1 , wherein the object thickening module comprises: a first pixel value acquisition sub-module operable to acquire pixel values of all points in an Nth row of the first monochromic image, and acquire pixel values of all points in an Nth row of the second monochromic image; a first determination sub-module operable to determine whether the pixel value of an nth point in the Nth row of the first monochromic image is the same as the pixel value of the objects in the first monochromic image, and determine if the nth point is the last point in the Nth row of the first monochromic image and if the Nth row is the last row of the first monochromic image, and operable to determine whether the pixel value of an nth point in the Nth row of the second monochromic image is the same as the pixel value of the objects in the second monochromic image, and determine if the nth point is the last point in the Nth row of the second monochromic image and if the Nth row is the last row of the second monochromic image; a point acquisition sub-module operable to acquire a plurality of points from the first monochromic image when the pixel value of the nth point in the Nth row of the first monochromic image is the same as the pixel value of the objects in the first monochromic image, and operable to acquire a plurality of points from the second monochromic image when the pixel value of the nth point in the Nth row of the second monochromic image is the same as the pixel value of the objects in the second monochromic image; and a pixel value changing sub-module operable to change the pixel values of the plurality of points acquired from the first monochromic image for same as the pixel value of the objects in the first monochromic image, and operable to change the pixel values of the plurality of points acquired from the second monochromic image for same as the pixel value of the objects in the second monochromic image.

5. The system as described in claim 4 , wherein the plurality of points acquired from the first monochromic image are adjacent to the nth point in the Nth row of the first monochromic image, and the plurality of points acquired from the second monochromic image are adjacent to the nth point in the Nth row of the second monochromic image.

6. The system as described in claim 1 , wherein the image overlaying module comprises: a second pixel value acquisition sub-module operable to acquire pixel values of all points in an Nth row of the skeleton image of the first monochromic image and pixel values of all points in an Nth row of the bold image of the second monochromic image, and operable to acquire pixel values of all points in an Nth row of the skeleton image of the second monochromic image and pixel values of all points in an Nth row of the bold image of the first monochromic image; a second determination sub-module operable to determine whether the pixel value of an nth point in the Nth row of the skeleton image of the first monochromic image is the same as the pixel value of an nth point in the Nth row of the bold image of the second monochromic image, and whether the pixel value of an nth point in the Nth row of the skeleton image of the second monochromic image is the same as the pixel value of an nth point in the Nth row of the bold image of the first monochromic image, determine if the nth point in the Nth row of each of the bold images is black, further determine if the nth point is the last point in the Nth row and if the Nth row is the last row of each of the skeleton images and each of the bold images; an overlaying sub-module operable to overlay the nth point in the Nth row of the skeleton image of the first monochromic image with the nth point in the Nth row of the bold image of the second monochromic image upon the condition that the pixel value of the nth point in the Nth row of the skeleton image of the first monochromic image is the same as the pixel value of the nth point in the Nth row of the bold image of the second monochromic image or the nth point in the Nth row of the bold image of the second monochromic image is black, and overlay the nth point in the Nth row of the skeleton image of the second monochromic image with the nth point in the Nth row of the bold image of the first monochromic image upon the condition that the pixel value of the nth point in the Nth row of the skeleton image of the second monochromic image is the same as the pixel value of the nth point in the Nth row of the bold image of the first monochromic image or the nth point in the Nth row of the bold image of the first monochromic image is black; and a coloring sub-module operable to color the nth point in the Nth row of each of the skeleton image of the first monochromic image upon the condition that the pixel value of the nth point in the Nth row of the skeleton image of the first monochromic image is different from the pixel value of the nth point in the Nth row of the bold image of the second monochromic image and the nth point in the Nth row of the bold image of the second monochromic image is white, and operable to color the nth point in the Nth row of each of the skeleton image of the second monochromic image upon the condition that the pixel value of the nth point in the Nth row of the skeleton image of the second monochromic image is different from the pixel value of the nth point in the Nth row of the bold image of the first monochromic image and the nth point in the Nth row of the bold image of the first monochromic image is white.

7. An image processing method for comparing images, the method being performed by execution of computer readable program code by at least one processor, the method comprising: (a) thinning objects in a monochromic image B 2 so as to generate a skeleton image B 3 ; (b) thickening objects in a monochromic image A 2 to generate a bold image A 4 ; (c) overlaying the skeleton image B 3 with the bold image A 4 so as to generate an overlaid image AB 1 ; (d) thinning the objects in the monochromic image A 2 so as to generate a skeleton image A 3 ; (e) thickening the objects in the monochromic image B 2 to generate a bold image B 4 ; (f) overlaying the skeleton image A 3 with the bold image B 4 so as to generate an overlaid image AB 2 ; and (g) outputting the overlaid images AB 1 and AB 2 on a display screen.

8. The method as described in claim 7 , before step (a) the method further comprising: converting a color image A to a grayscale image A 1 and converting a color image B to a grayscale image B 1 by computing a gray value of each pixel of the color images A and B using a conversion formula; and converting the grayscale image A 1 to the monochromic image A 2 and converting the grayscale image B 1 to the monochromic image B 2 by comparing a gray value of each point of the grayscale images A 1 and the grayscale image B 1 with a predefined threshold value.

9. The method as described in claim 7 , wherein step (a) comprises: reading pixel values of all points in each row of the monochromic image B 2 ; searching the pixel values of the objects in the monochromic image B 2 from each row to locate groups that include consecutive pixel values of the objects; and updating the pixel values in each group by maintaining a central pixel value and changing the other pixel values so as to generate the skeleton image B 3 .

10. The method as described in claim 7 , wherein step (b) comprises: (b1) acquiring pixel values of all points in each row of the monochromic image A 2 ; (b2) determining from the first point in the first row until the last point in the last row that whether the pixel value of the point is the same as the pixel value of the objects in the monochromic image A 2 ; (b3) acquiring a plurality of points from the monochromic image A 2 upon the condition that the pixel value of the point is the same as the pixel value of the objects in the monochromic image A 2 ; and (b4) changing the pixel values of the plurality of points for same as the pixel value of the objects in the monochromic image A 2 .

11. The method as described in claim 7 , wherein step (c) comprises: (c1) acquiring pixel values of all points in each row of the skeleton image B 3 and pixel values of all points in each row of the bold image A 4 ; (c2) overlaying from the first point in the first row until the last point in the last row of the skeleton image B 3 with a corresponding point of the bold image A 4 upon the condition that the pixel value of the point of the skeleton image B 3 is the same as the pixel value of the corresponding point of the bold image A 4 or the corresponding point of the bold image is black; and (c3) coloring the point of the skeleton image B 3 upon the condition that the pixel value of the point of the skeleton image B 3 is different from the pixel value of the corresponding point of the bold image A 4 and the corresponding point of the bold image is white.

12. The method as described in claim 7 , wherein step (d) comprises: reading pixel values of all points in each row of the monochromic image A 2 ; searching the pixel values of the objects in the monochromic image A 2 from each row to locate groups that include consecutive pixel values of the objects; and updating the pixel values in each group by maintaining a central pixel value and changing the other pixel values so as to generate the skeleton image A 3 .

13. The method as described in claim 7 , wherein step (e) comprises: (e1) acquiring pixel values of all points in each row of the monochromic image B 2 ; (e2) determining from the first point in the first row until the last point in the last row that whether the pixel value of the point is the same as the pixel value of the objects in the monochromic image B 2 ; (e3) acquiring a plurality of points from the monochromic image B 2 upon the condition that the pixel value of the point is the same as the pixel value of the objects in the monochromic image B 2 ; and (e4) changing the pixel values of the plurality of points for same as the pixel value of the objects in the monochromic image B 2 .

14. The method as described in claim 7 , wherein step (f) comprises: (f1) acquiring pixel values of all points in each row of the skeleton image A 3 and pixel values of all points in each row of the bold image B 4 ; (f2) overlaying from the first point in the first row until the last point in the last row of the skeleton image A 3 with a corresponding point of the bold image B 4 upon the condition that the pixel value of the point of the skeleton image A 3 is the same as the pixel value of the corresponding point of the bold image B 4 or the corresponding point of the bold image is black; and (f3) coloring the point of the skeleton image A 3 upon the condition that the pixel value of the point of the skeleton image A 3 is different from the pixel value of the corresponding point of the bold image B 4 and the corresponding point of the bold image is white.

15. A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform an image processing method for comparing images, the method comprising: (a) thinning objects in a monochromic image B 2 so as to generate a skeleton image B 3 ; (b) thickening objects in a monochromic image A 2 to generate a bold image A 4 ; (c) overlaying the skeleton image B 3 with the bold image A 4 so as to generate a overlaid image AB 1 ; (d) thinning the objects in the monochromic image A 2 so as to generate a skeleton image A 3 ; (e) thickening the objects in the monochromic image B 2 to generate a bold image B 4 ; (f) overlaying the skeleton image A 3 with the bold image B 4 so as to generate an overlaid image AB 2 ; and (g) outputting the overlaid images AB 1 and AB 2 .

16. The storage medium as described in claim 15 , before step (a) the method further comprising: converting a color image A to a grayscale image A 1 and converting a color image B to a grayscale image B 1 by computing a gray value of each pixel of the color images A and B using a conversion formula; and converting the grayscale image A 1 to the monochromic image A 2 and converting the grayscale image B 1 to the monochromic image B 2 by comparing a gray value of each point of the grayscale images A 1 and B 1 with a predefined threshold value.

17. The storage medium as described in claim 15 , wherein step (a) comprises: reading pixel values of all points in each row of the monochromic image B 2 ; searching the pixel values of the objects in the monochromic image B 2 from each row to locate groups that include consecutive pixel values of the objects; and updating the pixel values in each group by maintaining a central pixel value and changing the other pixel values so as to generate the skeleton image B 3 ; and step (d) comprises: reading pixel values of all points in each row of the monochromic image A 2 ; searching the pixel values of the objects in the monochromic image A 2 from each row to locate groups that include consecutive pixel values of the objects; and updating the pixel values in each group by maintaining a central pixel value and changing the other pixel values so as to generate the skeleton image A 3 .

18. The storage medium as described in claim 15 , wherein step (b) comprises: (A) acquiring pixel values of all points in each row of the monochromic image A 2 ; (B) determining from the first point in the first row until the last point in the last row of the monochromic image A 2 that whether the pixel value of the point is the same as the pixel value of the objects in the monochromic image A 2 ; (C) acquiring a plurality of points from the monochromic image A 2 upon the condition that the pixel value of the point is the same as the pixel value of the objects in the monochromic image A 2 ; and (D) changing the pixel values of the plurality of points for same as the pixel value of the objects in the monochromic image A 2 ; and step (e) comprising: (A) acquiring pixel values of all points in each row of the monochromic image B 2 ; (B) determining from the first point in the first row until the last point in the last row of the monochromic image B 2 that whether the pixel value of the point is the same as the pixel value of the objects in the monochromic image B 2 ; (C) acquiring a plurality of points from the monochromic image B 2 upon the condition that the pixel value of the point is the same as the pixel value of the objects in the monochromic image B 2 ; and (D) changing the pixel values of the plurality of points for same as the pixel value of the objects in the monochromic image B 2 .

19. The storage medium as described in claim 18 , wherein the plurality of points acquired from the monochromic image A 2 are adjacent to the point whose pixel value of the point is the same as the pixel value of the objects of the monochromic image A 2 , and the plurality of points acquired from the monochromic image B 2 are adjacent to the point whose pixel value of the point is the same as the pixel value of the objects of the monochromic image B 2 .

20. The storage medium as described in claim 15 , wherein each of steps (c) comprises: (1) acquiring pixel values of all points in each row of the skeleton image B 3 and pixel values of all points in each row of the bold image A 4 ; (2) overlaying from the first point in the first row until the last point in the last row of the skeleton image B 3 with a corresponding point of the bold image A 4 upon the condition that the pixel value of the point of the skeleton image B 3 is the same as the pixel value of the corresponding point of the bold image A 4 or the corresponding point of the bold image A 4 is black; and (3) coloring the point of the skeleton image B 3 upon the condition that the pixel value of the point of the skeleton image B 3 is different from the pixel value of the corresponding point of the bold image A 4 and the corresponding point of the bold image A 4 is white; and steps (f) comprises: (1) acquiring pixel values of all points in each row of the skeleton image A 3 and pixel values of all points in each row of the bold image B 4 ; (2) overlaying from the first point in the first row until the last point in the last row of the skeleton image A 3 with a corresponding point of the bold image B 4 upon the condition that the pixel value of the point of the skeleton image A 3 is the same as the pixel value of the corresponding point of the bold image B 4 or the corresponding point of the bold image B 4 is black; and (3) coloring the point of the skeleton image A 3 upon the condition that the pixel value of the point of the skeleton image A 3 is different from the pixel value of the corresponding point of the bold image B 4 and the corresponding point of the bold image B 4 is white.